Authority Supports Carpenter

Members Are Prepared To Approve Her Contract

October 12, 1995|By BILL LEUKHARDT; Courant Staff Writer

NEW BRITAIN — Housing authority board members stressed Wednesday their support of embattled Executive Director Dorislee Carpenter, but delayed approving her contract to make revisions suggested by their lawyer.

``We just got a letter this morning from our lawyers. They've suggested some changes,'' Chairman Jose Angulo said after the unanimous vote to table the contract. ``We want to do this as soon as possible so we may have a special meeting once the contract is ready.''

He did not say what changes the lawyers at Pepe & Hazard recommend in the pact with Carpenter, hired in May at an annual salary of $71,000.

Angulo and other board members at Wednesday's meeting said they are pleased with Carpenter's performance running the 1,774-unit authority. Several tenants at the meeting said the same.

``Things are better for us,'' said James Majors, a spokesman for the Senior Citizens Coalition. ``She's visible, responsible and competent. We're the customers and we're happy with the way things are getting done.''

Carpenter was hired in January to fill the vacancy created when the board fired Patricia Croslan, whose contract had expired.

Croslan has since sued the board for $1 million, claiming they defamed her and violated her civil rights. That suit is pending.

At the meeting, the board voted to indemnify Commissioner Daniel Dilger and assume any costs that may be levied on him if Croslan wins her lawsuit. Dilger and former Commissioner Mary O'Keefe proposed a resolution in May 1994 to fire Croslan, citing a retroactive pay increase she gave herself in 1993.

Carpenter, director of the New London housing authority from 1993 to April 1995, has been working without a contract.

After she was hired, several New London board members told The Courant that they had serious concerns about Carpenter's job performance in New London.

Subsequently, the authority's legal firm, Arnold & Associates, suggested she be an ``at-will'' employee who could be fired for any reason. But the board decided to give Carpenter a contract.

But that opinion is not shared by everyone. Former board member Thelma Santiago-Phillips -- who opposed the firing of Croslan -- told the board Wednesday that Carpenter is alienating workers and should be let go.

Evidence of turmoil, she said, is a no-confidence petition signed last month by 24 authority workers, not quite half its 55-member staff. That petition was made public to newspapers, but has not yet been given to the board.

``This woman doesn't get along with people. She doesn't relate to tenants. She doesn't relate to staff,'' Santiago-Phillips said. ``People are moving away like flies. It's worse than it ever was.''

After the meeting, Carpenter said she has not seen the petition, nor has the union representing authority workers filed any grievances against her.